PALLEKELE (AFP) – India s Kuldeep Yadav said Wednesday he felt both excited and nervous before the final Test against Sri Lanka as the left-arm wrist spinner prepared to fill in for suspended star bowler Ravindra Jadeja.

Yadav is expected to make the starting XI in the Test at Pallekele starting Saturday in place of Jadeja, who was handed a one-match ban for dangerous play in India s last Test against Sri Lanka.

Yadav joined the squad for the three-Test series in Sri Lanka, but the presence of world-number one Test bowler Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin denied him a slot in the starting lineup.

“Definitely you will have to wait for your chance if the number-one and number-two spinners are in the same squad as you,” said Yadav.

Yadav, one of the few left-arm unorthodox spinners alongside Sri Lanka s Lakshan Sandakan and South African Tabraiz Shamsi, said the style was gaining in popularity.